hot fun in the summertime

this is a wall
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

jamie lidell
from the album
multiply
LISTEN/new me
LISTEN/what's the use

today was hot. its nearly ten in the nite and i'm still sticky with sweat. it's currently 90 degrees according to the weather people. a slight drop from the 95 degree day. i love weather like this, the mind numbing heat, the appreciatively sweet relief in finding a nice spot of shade, a strong fan, or a cold beer. love all the summer activities too, like bbq and smashball with pj by the lake at prospect park, catching an outdoor hop fu screening at the bandshell, and strolling through soho to the barry mcgee show at deitch projects. the gallery space was pretty big and carried a lot of his work. the first thing you see after walking through the entrance, which is actually the back end of a truck's trailer that's been laid on its's side, is a crashed and graffitied stack of automobiles piled ceiling high. at this point you can only say "whoa!" or "oh my!", or "holy...", or something like that. and as impressive a sight this is, it's only the beginning. there's also a small tower of monitors and wires that serve as a video installation, a shed built out of panels painted with brightly colored geometric shapes, and the actual inside of a public restroom with one in a number of animatronic graffiti guys tagging the long scrawled mirror. it amazes me that one person can work with so many different ideas (like painting, video, photo, sculpture, mechanics, massive installation) and create something so incredible, skilled, and distinctive. if in new york then you should go and see yourself, if you can't make it then you can at least look at more photos here.
going along with theme of summer fun, here are two tracks from jamie lidell off his recent release multiply. lidell can bring the funk, 'new me' summons the powers of james brown and fela kuti, and the soul, showing a little white boy wonder in the slow grooving, blue-eyed burner 'what's the use'. white boy is sincere, none of this irony drenched beck type soul, and pulls off a classic sounding record that also delights with its freaked-out and fresh production.